The Grammy Awards have been postponed for the second year in a row due to the new COVID-19 strain, the Recording Academy and CBS announced in a joint statement on Wednesday. A new date has not yet been announced.
“After careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts, the artist community and our many partners, the Recording Academy and CBS have postponed the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards Show,” the statement read.
“The health and safety of those in our music community, the live audience, and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly to produce our show remains our top priority,” it continued. “Given the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, holding the show on Jan. 31 simply contains too many risks.”
The awards were supposed to be held on January 31st in Los Angeles, but according to the LA County Public Health office, 21,790 people in Los Angeles County tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday alone. As of Sunday, nearly 2,000 people in the county had been hospitalized with the virus. Wow! What a record.
Nominations for the awards were announced on November 23, having been chosen from projects released between September 1, 2020, and September 30, 2021. Jon Batiste led the pack with 11 nominations, while Justin Bieber and R&B artist H.E.R tied for second with eight. After receiving three nominations, rapper Jay-Z became the most nominated artist in the show’s history, with 83 nods.
The winners of the January 31 show would have been chosen directly from votes cast by academy members. Following backlash from major artists, the Recording Academy announced in 2021 that it would discontinue the use of anonymous review committees. What a sight that would’ve been.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed and wait for the announcement of a new date.